Infants prenatally exposed to cocaine react more emotionally to stress and have fewer strategies to reduce stress than infants not exposed to the drug, according to a recent study by researchers at the UB Institute on Addictions (RIA).
The study led by Rina Eiden, a senior research scientist at RIA, examined several seven-month-old infants. The research was driven by a desire to investigate a little-known area.
"There has been quite a bit of research indicating that cocaine-exposed kids may have difficulty regulating arousal," Eiden said. "However, few studies have used behavioral paradigms in infancy, and fewer have examined if cocaine-exposed infants were more reactive under conditions of stress."
The main purpose was to observe the infants' reactivity and how successful they were with handling stress. The guardian was asked to place the child in a chair with a toy and then to stand behind the infant. The infant was then allowed 30 seconds of playtime with the toy.
Next the guardian blocked the child from playing with the toy for 30 seconds. This procedure was then repeated.
The results show that infants that were prenatally exposed to cocaine were not as successful with dealing with the situation then the other infants. They expressed a significantly larger amount of anger and sadness, and reacted quicker as the situation became more stressful.
An important find was that infants exposed to cocaine did not implement the techniques that infants not exposed to the drug would use, such as looking for their guardian.
Not all of the results were what Eiden expected.
"I expected that some of the effects of cocaine would be mediated through a risky environment or poor parenting," Eiden said. "Instead, the effects were direct, seemingly teratological effects of prenatal cocaine exposure that were not mediated by the care-giving environment."
The RIA will conduct further research on these children over time, which will be followed by future publications, according to Eiden.
Eiden explained that parents who may have a cocaine addiction should seek help. There are many options in the area, including a large selection of outpatient clinics, such as one run by the RIA for alcohol and drug abuse. Several inpatient clinics are also located in the Buffalo area.
